Tm3+ -doped ion-exchanged aluminum germanate glass waveguide for S -band amplification

K+ - Na+ ion-exchanged channel waveguide amplifiers have been fabricated in Tm3+ -doped acid-resistant aluminum germanate glasses. The optical and relative gains of a 3.15-cm-long waveguide channel were achieved to be 4.05 and 2.29 dB at 1.482 μm wavelength under 110 mW 793 nm laser excitation, respectively. After compensating the propagation loss, an internal gain of 1.50 dB and a remarkable gain coefficient of 0.48 dB/cm were obtained, which reveals a definite S -band signal amplification in the low phonon energy glass waveguide. As an expectation, UV-radiation-sensitive glass waveguide should promote the developments of gain-flatten S -band waveguide amplifiers, infrared UV-writing grating waveguide lasers, and compact multifunctional integrated optical devices. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.